DJI unveils the Mavic Air: Mavic Pro specs in a Spark-sized body

DPReview was on hand in New York City as DJI unveiled its newest drone, the Mavic Air, which fuses enthusiast-oriented features and foldable design from the company's Mavic Pro line of drones with the compact form factor if its Spark model. The Mavic Air also introduces some exciting new technologies that should make drone flying safer, easier, and more creative.

Key features include:

A 1/2.3" CMOS sensor

3-axis gimbal

24mm (equiv.) F2.8 lens

12MP still images w/ Raw support

4K/30p video with 100 Mbps H.264 codec

Full HD video up to 120fps

32-megapixel spherical panorama mode

HDR capture mode

8GB internal storage in addition to MicroSD card

Foldable legs with integrated omnidirectional antenna

Updated flight autonomy system with 3D modeling

Improved ActiveTrack technology

New 'Asteroid' and 'Boomerang' intelligent flight modes

Obstacle-avoidance sensors in the front, back, and bottom

Advanced pilot awareness system (APAS)

Visual positioning system for better control, hovering and indoor flying

2.5 mile range with controller

42.5 Mph in Sport Mode

Flight ceiling of 16,404 ft.

21-minute flight time

USB-C port

Compatible with DJI's SDK for third party applications

DJI has clearly aimed the Mavic Air at travelers, outdoor photographers, and particularly adventurers who may go off the beaten track. It's small size is impressive, as DJI's Michael Perry demonstrated by pulling three of them out of his pockets on stage, and its rich feature set is sure to appeal to people like adventure filmmakers.

The Mavic Air is reminiscent of DJI's tiny Spark drone, but packs in all the features found on the Mavic Pro.

With a weight of 430 grams, the Mavic Air is heavier than the diminutive Spark (300 grams), yet substantially lighter than the Mavic Pro (734 grams), demonstrating just how much technology DJI has been able to cram into a very small package.

Imaging features

Videographers will be happy to learn that the Mavic Air captures 4K/30p video at bit rates up to 100Mbps using the H.264 codec, though it doesn't shoot 4K/60p as some rumors had suggested. Additionally, full HD capture is now supported at 120 fps.

In addition to 12MP Raw image capture, DJI has added new features for still photographers as well. In addition to vertical, horizontal, and 180º panoramas, the Mavic Air can create 32MP spherical panoramas by automatically shooting 25 still images and stitching them together in under 8 seconds. There's also a built-in HDR function which should help to better capture scenes with high dynamic range.

Anyone who flies drones regularly has probably had at least one experience where they arrived on site only to realize that they left their memory card at home. In a nod to forgetful pilots everywhere, the Mavic Air includes 8GB of on-board storage – something that may be particularly helpful for adventurers far from the car.

Controls

Borrowing a popular feature from the Spark, the Mavic Air includes gesture controls, which allow users to control the drone's movements and certain functions (such as taking a picture) using their hands. This can be particularly useful to anyone trying to take a self portrait, such as a climber on a rock wall. Also, thanks to a rear obstacle avoidance system, the drone will sense if you're trying to back it into an object.

In our review of the Spark we noted that its gesture controls were often far from reliable, however DJI tells us that the system on the Air has been ’significantly improved’ for more precision and reliability. Based on our hands-on experience with the Air at the launch event we’re inclined to believe this. It seemed much more responsive to our gestures, and we didn't notice any hesitation when directing it to move. Gestures will work up to a distance of 19 ft.

The Mavic Air's controller is designed to be as compact as possible for travel, including removable control sticks.

Also included is a compact controller that's visually similar to that of the Mavic Pro, however it's now possible to detach the sticks to make it as compact as possible for travel. Using the controller, the Mavic Air can be controlled at a range of up to 2.5 miles, more than enough when operating with visual line of sight.

Obstacle avoidance and intelligent flight modes

A very useful feature on a drone is obstacle avoidance, and the Mavic Air is full of it. It includes seven onboard cameras for sensing and avoidance, including dual forward, downward, and backward cameras. Also included is a feature DJI is calling ‘Flight Autonomy 2.0’, which conducts real-time positioning by building a 3D map of the environment around the aircraft.

Thanks to this 3D mapping, the Mavic Air also includes an ‘advanced pilot awareness system’ (APAS) for advanced obstacle avoidance. Instead of simply stopping when an obstacle is detected, APAS will plan a path to bypass or go around obstacles, allowing the drone to continue on its course.

DJI has also added two new intelligent flight modes, ‘Asteroid Mode’ and ‘Boomerang Mode’. Asteroid mode creates a sort of hybrid clip in which a spherical panorama zooms in to a short video clip. Boomerang does more or less what the name suggests, flying up and away from a subject before coming back, creating an interesting cinematic effect. Additionally, DJI claims to have improved its ActiveTrack technology, giving it more precise tracking as well as the ability to detect multiple subjects simultaneously.

Performance

There are some notable performance improvements as well. With a top speed of 42.5Mph in Sport mode the Air is the fastest Mavic to date, and it has an operational ceiling of 16,404 ft. Some drone users may be disappointed with the 21-minute flight time. We suspect it's a necessary tradeoff in order to achieve the Mavic Air's compact size, and it’s still 5 minutes more than you'll get from the Spark.

DJI says the Mavic Air will also be compatible with a wide range of accessories including a car charger, ND filters, and DJI’s flight goggles for a first person view flying experience.

Availability

The Mavic Air will be available for $799. The standard package includes a protective case, propeller guards, and the newly designed remote control. A 'Fly More' combo that includes an additional set of propellers, 2 extra batteries, a folding charging hub that charges two batteries, and a shoulder bag will be available for $999. It's available in three impressively descriptive colors: Arctic White, Onyx Black, and Flame Red.

Preorders begin today, with shipments and retail availability beginning on January 28.

January 23, 2018 – DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, today introduced Mavic Air, an ultra-portable, foldable camera drone that delivers higher performance, more intelligent features and greater creative possibilities than any other consumer drone. Developed with the traveler and outdoor enthusiast in mind, Mavic Air inherits the best features of DJI’s iconic Mavic series with a 4K camera for superior image quality, new QuickShot modes and SmartCapture for easier, more intelligent photo and video capturing, and FlightAutonomy 2.0 with Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems for smarter, safer flight. A marvel of engineering and design, Mavic Air enables limitless exploration wherever adventure takes you.

“When DJI introduced the Mavic Pro, it reinvented what a consumer drone could be: powerful, yet portable, accessible, but advanced,” said Roger Luo, President at DJI. “Today, with the introduction of Mavic Air, we have pushed these attributes to the next level to create our best consumer drone yet.”

Designed for Portability and Power

Weighing just 430 grams, Mavic Air is the most portable DJI drone ever created. Its folding arms and propellers sit flush against its slender aerodynamic frame, making it so compact that its footprint is nearly the size of a modern smartphone when folded.

Every aspect of Mavic Air’s camera has been designed for maximum performance. Its recessed three-axis mechanical gimbal is suspended from dampeners to further reduce vibration providing superior protection and steadier shots. A powerful camera housing a 1/2.3” CMOS sensor and the equivalent of a 24mm F2.8 lens (on a 35mm full frame sensor) captures high-quality photos and videos.

Mavic Air photographs crisp 12-megapixel still images utilizing new HDR algorithms that preserve more highlight and low light details, allowing you to capture stunning aerial pictures from sunrise to sunset. It also shoots smooth stabilized 4K video at 30 fps, capturing the highest quality video of any DJI consumer drone with a maximum bitrate of 100 Mbps. Preserving the action in dramatic fast-paced scenes is now possible through its ability to shoot 1080p slow-motion video at 120 fps.

Mavic Air is DJI’s first drone with 8 GB of onboard storage letting you save photos and videos directly to the aircraft on the go, plus a microSD card slot for additional storage capacity. The newly added USB-C port makes exporting captured footage easy and fast.

Expand Your Creativity

Mavic Air’s intelligent camera system creates new possibilities for anyone regardless of their photography and drone piloting experience. Photo enthusiasts who want to capture their surroundings in complete detail can use the new Sphere panorama feature to automatically shoot and stitch together 25 photos, creating a crystal-clear 32-megapixel panoramic image within one minute. Mavic Air also supports multiple panorama modes, creating horizontal, vertical, and 180-degree images.

QuickShot intelligent video modes make creating professional videos fun and easy with predefined flight paths that automatically keep your subject in the frame. Use Rocket, Dronie, Circle, or Helix plus two new modes Asteroid and Boomerang, to effortlessly create videos that once required significant piloting skills and sophisticated editing software. Asteroid starts with a spherical image that zooms in as it descends toward the subject on the ground, while Boomerang circles the subject in an oval-shaped flight path with the video finishing at the start point.

Mavic Air’s ActiveTrack intelligent flight mode has been improved to automatically sense multiple subjects, following your subject and keeping it in the frame with more precision, especially during high motion activities like running and cycling.

Powered by machine learning technology, SmartCapture[1] is an ultra-responsive control mode that makes shooting photos and videos effortless. With a maximum range of up to 20 ft (6 meters), you can give hand gesture commands to launch, follow, photograph, record, push, pull and land, letting you capture the moment from any angle without the need for a remote controller.

Smarter, Safer Flight

More powerful computing capabilities and optimized algorithms help Mavic Air fly smarter and safer through obstacles and terrain. FlightAutonomy 2.0 processes data gathered from seven onboard cameras and infrared sensors to construct a 3D map of its environment for more precise hovering and better flight performance. The improved forward and backward dual camera vision systems can sense obstacles up to 66 feet (20 meters) away. To help navigate through more complex outdoor environments, Mavic Air has newly developed Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems that helps pilots avoid and bypass obstacles automatically, providing an extra layer of reassurance during flight.

Mavic Air has a maximum flight time of up to 21 minutes. It can fly stably in windy conditions of up to 22 mph (36 kph) and at high elevations of up to 16,404 ft (5,000 m) above sea level[2]. Mavic Air’s remote is the first to feature detachable control sticks that can be stored inside the remote controller for added portability. Its omnidirectional antennas placed on the foldable landing gear help increase signal coverage to deliver a maximum range of up to 2.5 miles (4km)[3] with 1080p real-time video transmission when flying with the remote controller. When in Sport mode, Mavic Air flies at exhilarating speeds of up to 42 mph (68 kph) and is compatible with DJI Goggles for an immersive FPV flight experience.

Price and Availability

Mavic Air will be available in three colors: Onyx Black, Arctic White and Flame Red. The US retail price including the drone, battery, remote controller, carrying case, two pairs of propeller guards and four pairs of propellers, is $799 USD. The Mavic Air Fly More Combo includes the drone, three batteries, a remote controller, a travel bag, two pairs of propeller guards, six pairs of propellers, a battery to power bank adapter and battery charging hub, for $999 USD.

Starting today, Mavic Air will be available for pre-order at store.dji.com, the four DJI Flagship Stores and authorized dealers. Pre-orders will start shipping on January 28. For more information on all the new features and capabilities of Mavic Air, please visit www.dji.com/mavic-air.

I like the video quality, the Spark was really so so, the pro was good, the Air is very good. However, the flying range is much better on the pro or the platinum because they use RF, the Air only uses Wi-Fi.

I think it is absolutely amazing what DJI is packing in to a tiny machine. You only have to look back 5 years to see how rapidly this field has developed.

What I don't see being emphasized are some additional advantages in having a small copter besides just the transport convenience. This system looks to be as good or better at photo/video as my much larger Inspire 1. And it has collision avoidance and other technology lacking in my machine.

Smaller machines have less mass in the propellers so speed changes can be made more rapidly. This can increase responsiveness and stability. A very light machine will cause less damage to other property or personal injury in the event of a crash. The batteries are smaller thus can be cheaper and potentially could be recharged more quickly or with a less demanding charger (in a car for instance). The lower mass in a tiny camera should also make it easier for a gimbal to keep it steady.

Nice! If it was exactly the same size/weight as the Spark, had 4K/60fps and the same amount or more of flight time as the Mavic Pro, I would of been really blown away...bring on the Mavic Air 2 next year? Still quite impressive. I’m not sure of course, but this seems the kind of (useful) gadget that would need as much processing power as the latest smartphones.

I like how these are getting smaller and smaller. My camera bag is already overstuffed. For a long time I was thinking about getting a Mavic Pro but it seemed a bit too big and heavy to carry around (yes, yes I know - on its own it is pretty small and lightweight but still in a bag already full of cameras, lenses and gimbals...). Spark lacked the features I wanted in a drone. The Air seems to be perfect for an enthusiast: size and feature-wise.

Great, another drone for people with no flying skills to fly and crash when there's a glitch in flight.. There needs to be a law passed that you can not fly a drone unless you go thru some sort of training.. DJI should have a flight school ap and in order for you to unlock your drone you would need have to at least pass the training.. But no, they decided to enhance obstacle avoidance in there latest toy...

Have you ever flown one? My neighbor has several of them and I tried once in a field on his drones. After about 5 minutes it was trivial to fly. Even if you lose control/communication with drone, it automatically goes to max height, flies straight back to its point of origin, then lands straight down without interaction. If something goes wrong and it falls out of the sky, its likely not because of operator error, its because of hardware/software failure.

Actually, that is exactly what has been proposed in the UK,EU and US. However the threshold is a flying weight of 1.2 pounds or more. The Mavic Pro is 1.6 lbs but the new Mavic Air is only 0.77 lbs.

Even 10' altitude gives you a whole new outlook on a scene, and 100' is literally a birds eye view. That said, real photographers don't use drones - just selfie sticks. Mine is 9' long and doubles as a boom pole for location video.

Not crushed, but knocked to the ground with a broken rib. For those spared this experience, getting up in the morning is incredibly painful for about three weeks. An acquaintance was injured badly enough by an adult sidewalk rider to be out of work as a carpenter for several months. I was nearly run down on several occasions in China by electric bicycles, running 20 mph in absolute silence.

At famous rock star was badly slashed by a quadcopter at a concert. Recently, Heathrow airport was shut down for 3 hours before the drone operator could be found and arrested.

The ability of fools to operate in public without regard for others is without limit.

Does this autofocus? Tap-to-focus? I remember reading that the Mavic Pro had issues early on, and while I'm assuming those have been resolved (I don't own one, and simply read user reports), I'd be curious to know about the reliability of AF on the Air. (Assuming that feature's available.)

You'll still operate the drone at 400 ft. above ground level or lower (or whatever the local regulations allow where you are). 16,000 ft. is just the operational ceiling, meaning that if you're standing at 15,500 ft. it's still possible to fly it.

Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 also protects the safety of manned aircraft operations by requiring that model aircraft not interfere with and give way to manned aircraft. The FAA may pursue enforcement action against model aircraft operators who endanger the safety of the National Air Space. Flying an RC aircraft at 3000 ft. AGL is irresponsible and in most cases is endangering the NAS. I say this as a long time AMA member and as holder of the Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Wise up.

No it's not. I was flying a large thermal glider that weighed less than 3 pounds, I was 10 miles from the nearest airport and I was in a booming thermal I had trouble flying out of. Others in my club regularly fly jets to over 2,000 feet a little over 5 miles from an airport. That's probably even safer because they always have the performance to fly out of any situation, including straight down at over 200 feet per second.

i wonder how many of these little gems will be ordered by the us government ?

[sarcasm alert]more seriously ,ive always wondered ,as per flight time, if someone velcroed an additional battery pack on the belly of this lilliput i imagine it could take off \land and maneuver , albeit slowly wiith reduced maneuverability \ and maybe responsiveness ... but flyable .

could someone do a double parallel battery setup to double air time to 42 minutes?

like the difference between a fighter jet and a heavy lift transport... both turn and move in the sky but with different prowess and responsiveness.Could a drone be given double flight time and simply be a little more "logy" in the sky ...

I welcome the thought of drone users to answer ... ive never owned a serious one

The problem with adding another battery is the increased weight will result in much less total flight time than if you used one battery, landed and changed batteries. And as you said, reduced performance... the batteries will have to work harder to put out enough power to lift the additional weight. This causes other problems. (Needing batteries with a higher C rating, reduced battery life.)

Corporate espionage? (Remember US Robotics or whatever they were called? First company in the world with drones - now where are they? I wonder if DJI reverse engineered their gear and improved upon. It's happened before in many industries.)

Hi. I think that overall speaking, in consideration of the price tag and features, the Autel EVO is still probably the best investment since it cost a bit more than the new Mavic air BUT technically speaking sit near the Mavic pro and actually in many respect beast the Mavic pro too!

I was hoping the Fly More combo would be under €1200, instead it's only €1049! Compared to the €1499 for the regular Mavic Pro that is a massive cut and for me it's perfect, more flight time than the Spark but even smaller than the Mavic Pro and with the same camera capabilities. Cannot wait to get one!

The Mavic Pro is great but my camera bag is already overstuffed so any extra portability without a loss in features is a big win for me. And besides, I've waited long enough, at this rate I'll never actually just buy a drone if I keep waiting for the next one to come out 😂 This is more than adequate for my very beginner hands

I imagine that is will be the main consumer Mavic line. They will continue with the Spark line and the Mavic pro will get a 1-inch sensor and go up to about $1500.

That 4km range is probably more limiting than the flight time. You will never actually get 4km and it will have less than half (maybe 1/16th - inverse cube law) of the ability to get the signal through/around obstacles like trees or rocks.

I'm pretty sure you can't legally use binoculars or other aid as you must watch the whole airspace and have free hands for the controls. Also I don't know which country allows flying beyond line of sight without special licence or permission. Even the big and dark Mavic Pro gets lost in cloudy sky after some 300 meters, give or take.

"Visual line of sight (VLOS) - Distance at which the pilot/operator is capable of maintaining visual contact with the sUAS and determine its orientation and altitude without enhancements other than corrective lenses."

OK, can’t use binoculars to extend VLOS. What about using small flashing strobes to extend LOS as all aircraft use? Probably not great on bright sunny days but more useful in lower light or cloudy days.Another issue is the FAA regulations requiring registration for drones over a specific weight. As drones become smaller and therefore lighter it seems the FAA may again have to update their restrictions concerning use.

Ironically, in many countries due to its low weight, Spark (or a 250g version of it) is the only craft which can be flown legally beyond vlos. I am therefore very happy to be able to fly my spark out 2 miles w/o issues or worries, keeping a stable video link (i am using an antenna mod). I think I don’t want to operate the heavier Mavic Air beyond vlos in my country.

Spark is like driving 30 mph in a 25 mph driving zone, still ok. Mavic Air like 43 mph, not ok anymore.

@LeeJayThe 250g weight limit is actually based on physics. Some countries use limits on the impact energy though. The limits are such as to minimize the risk of injury in case of falls out of air or crashes. I actually think 250g is generous if you consider a drone crashing into a car on the highway. This is why flying over or near a highway with a drone is forbidden in Germany.

"Unfortunately the task force recommendations may ultimately prove untenable by requiring the registration of smaller devices that are essentially toys and do not represent safety concerns. Based on its years of experience the AMA cautioned against unnecessarily encumbering the toy industry and urged the task force to consider several factors when determining the threshold at which UAS technology should be registered – including weight, capability and other safety-related characteristics. But, the recommendations do not reflect this comprehensive approach. The task force only considered weight, requiring any device up to 250 grams (0.55 pounds) to register. We believe weight should be only one of several factors considered when determining where the threshold should be for UAS registration."

In other words, a foam fixed-wing airplane and a quadcopter have the same limit despite having massively different terminal velocities. This is why I said they were only considered in a vacuum.

As I said, that may apply to your country. Don’t generalize what people trying to find good compromises do. Some countries use computed Joules numbers for final velocity impact energy rather than weight. The general trend seems to be to move over from grams to Joules.

Which is sort of equally stupid as it doesn't account for horizontal velocity or thrust. I have planes that weigh 2kg and are entirely safe (low velocity, low ballistic coefficient gliders) and one that's under 1kg and can go over 50m/s straight down despite also have a very low ballistic coefficient.

Yeah, don’t do the Spark. I own the mavic and the Spark; the later being more of a fun toy to fly around the park. If you want stable flight over a great distance, far and high, with steady footage and stabilisation in wind, the Mavick wins hands down!

You're not going to get no exclusion zones. As it is, too many idiots flying drones near planes and airports. There's a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately DJI has to balance realities with desires for independence.

DJI is killing it and this Mavic Air seems to fill a nice void. I probably would have bought it had I not bought a Mavic Pro a month ago as I was deliberating between the Spark and MP. Would be nice if they could get some real competition.

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